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Question about the Luichirp

Not necessarily. You should realize that he isn't really speaking English. In many languages (like Latin and presumably Patrian, at it basically is Latin) nouns are almost always omitted when they don't add important information (since adjectives are declined to agree with the nouns, gender and number are not extra info), but have to be added in the English translations to make them less awkward. I prefer to think that the word "man" is merely interpolated, incorrectly. He was being purposefully vague, but not lying. Mulcarn's personality is always described as being like that of a grumpy old man who wishes things would go back to how they were in "the good old days."

I imagine that when he first gained sentience he had not yet come to grasp the concept of free will. He could have refused, but didn't know he could refuse, as he had always been unable to before.

It is also possible that he is filled with a sort of spirit of "ice "(more like whatever gives frostlings life and intelligence than a true divine spark), making him naturally suited to obey Mulcarn. Of course, the "Ice" is a reactionary sphere, extremely unwilling to break with tradition and always looking back at the past as the way things should be. When Mulcarn looked to the past nostalgically, he saw the Age of Dragons when men were little more than animals, and sought to return the world to that state and keep it there. Barnaxus was not around then, so the oldest memories he looked back to and idealized was serving the Open-Skiers, so he wants to return the Luchuirp to their former glory. Of course, if this is the case, he might still rejoin Mulcarn/Auric Ulvin if they cross paths again. Apart from their differing alignments, Mulcarn and Kilmorph are rather similar, so an Ice-spirit-filled golem would not really have a problem with the Dwarves religion.

Well, you're right, but I still don't understand why Mulcarn would give Barnaxus free will. It doesn't help Mulcarn at all for Barnaxus to be able to think - all that Barny is supposed to do is make ice golems, not decipher the mysteries of the world. It could've been unintentional, true, but that just seems sloppy somehow. A sentient Barnaxus would be more of a liability than an asset.

However, Kyorlin seems to have more of a reason to give Barnaxus sentience in some fashion. Knowing that Barny would probably want to return to the Luichirp, a Good (and good) Kyorlin would help him, maybe even teach him, then send him to influence events for the better. That is assuming, of course, that Kyorlin had the ability to... empower?... Barnaxus to sentience.